For example, we might have customers fill out evaluation forms of their experience with our company–but then we have our sales people hand them out–people who have a vested interest in the customer rating them high (and they do say to customers, “Please give me a 10!”). Or we’ll only give them a few options. Or we’ll make it incredibly difficult for them to give feedback. Or we’ll have a strategic initiative to increase our customer service number by x percent, which, translated means, we don’t really want to get feedback that would lower the number.

However, the problem with all of those scenarios above is that they keep us from hearing what we need to hear in order to make the changes we need to make. To make this real, let me share with you an experience I had last week with a company, Power Windows and Siding.

My wife and I live in a neighborhood where the houses are 23 years old and every one of our neighbors has had their roof redone starting about seven years ago. We’ve been the lone holdout. So, this year we decided, let’s not push our luck, let’s get the roof redone. We attended a home show recently and filled out three forms for estimates  (one of which was Power Windows and Siding) to do our due diligence, plus we’ve contacted references from two neighbors.

Three of the companies were all very easy and professional to deal with. Sears was a little annoying with their call center, but their sales person was easy to work with and quickly assessed that I knew a lot and could skip through whole sections of his sales presentation pretty fast and get to the estimate quickly.

But Power Window and Siding was a whole different story. Their call center was the most annoying I’ve ever encountered. They called incessantly to confirm the appointment. I mean daily–which was annoying. I made an appointment. I keep my appointments. If they wanted to call the day before to confirm the appointment (which is a good practice), I wouldn’t have been annoyed. But to have their computer dial my number daily to confirm the same appointment–that was beyond infuriating.

Furthermore, when the computer would leave the phone number, it was always fast with a tagline like, “You know the number, RIng PWS!” Now, let me ask you, do you know what number R is? Or W? Or I? Names aren’t customer friendly. If I’m taking a message, I want someone to give me numbers. I don’t want to have to look at the dial pad and then have to figure out what the numbers are.

So, by the time the sales person came by, he was already in last place. Then as we sat down, he went into “sales mode.” You know what I’m talking about. He was trying to be my best friend. So tell me, where did you grow up? How many kids do you have? What are they doing now? Etc. He kept peppering me with questions, reflecting back my answers, affirming everything I said, etc. So much so that it all felt fake/plastic.

I kept telling him that I just wanted an estimate for my roof. My time is valuable and I didn’t need to bond. Then to get the measurements, he asked me to go out with him. Now, I’ve had four estimates before his and none of them needed me to hold the tape and walk the house with them (asking me more annoying questions).

Then when we came back in, he proceeded to go through the sales presentation which talked all about Power Windows and Siding and how great they are and how they were featured on Extreme Makeover, etc. — none of which dealt with me — or that I cared about. All I wanted was a roofing estimate.

He continued through the stock presentation even though I was telling him that I didn’t need to know all this stuff.  But he kept his head down, affirming, “I understand …” and then continuing to do what I was asking him not to do. Finally, when he got to the actual numbers he pulled out his calculator and showed me numbers that were about two and a half times higher than some of the other estimates we had received. Two and a half times higher! At that point, I said, “Listen, let’s save both of us some time. There’s no way we need to carry this conversation any further unless you’re about to tell me, ”Normally, this is what we’d normally charge, but right now we have a special going on where we’re discounting our normal price by over $10,000.“ He kept trying to move forward but I wouldn’t let him. Life’s too short.

However, to make matters even funnier, we’ve still been receiving calls daily from Power Windows and Siding since then. Finally, this morning I picked up the phone (I clearly recognized the number :-) to say, ”Stop Calling,“ when they guy on the other end informed me he was calling to schedule an appointment for a free estimate. Amazing!

But, here’s the point, I’m guessing that the people at Power Windows and Siding are pretty clueless about the feedback I just gave. In fact, right on the front page of their website, their CEO says

We work tirelessly to satisfy our customers, and our standards of quality, ethics, and integrity are unmatched.

Right! I’m sure, from an internal standpoint, they’re working on their systems to make things better from their standpoint. But if they really talked with customers, they’d find out something different.

1. No one likes being called to death by call centers reminding them of appointments, day after day.
2. No one likes alphabetical phone numbers (or, if one must, at least give a numbers option and repeat it twice).
3. No one likes being sold or a salesman trying too hard. (fake bonding is bad)
4. No one likes a salesperson who can’t read their customers’ verbals and non-verbals and then doesn’t adjust their sales presentation to what they’re seeing and hearing.
5. And no one likes an outrageous estimate (after all, we’re talking about a roof here. No one says to their friends, ”Hey, come look at my roof! I paid two and a half times what I should have. Isn’t it grand?“)

So, how are you doing? Are you really searching for honest feedback from your customers and prospects? Are you making it easy? Are you getting feedback that isn’t filtering into some metric that makes you look good? Are you asking enough tough questions? Are you following up with lost sales?

Remember, sometimes the feedback from the sales you lose can be the key to making a whole lot more money in the future!

To your accelerated success!

P.S. Note: this is not to say that all feedback is valuable or true or that it should change what you do. However, if you don’t aggressively pursue honest feedback, then you just might miss out on those insights which are accurate and which you should take some action on!

It’s understandable because leaders lead through their leaders/direct reports. Between meetings and working with and through their direct reports, there’s often very little time left over. Plus, most leaders feel like they’re undercutting their leaders/direct reports if they “go behind the leader’s back” and talk to employees one or two levels down the org chart.

On the other hand, this is disastrous because what gives leaders power isn’t their position but the will of “the people”. And what drives the will of “the people,” or what causes them to want to give power to a leader, is their belief that the leader understands them, cares for them, feels for them, “gets them.”

One of my favorite studies on this subject is related to who wins the election for President of the United States. In every election over the past sixty years, the person who won the election has been the person with the highest “likeability quotient.” For example, JFK over Nixon. LBJ over Humphrey. Regan over Dukakis. Clinton over Bush I. Bush II over Gore and Kerry. Obama over McCain. In other words, forget politics and policies, most people, when they’re in an election booth and have to make a choice, tend to vote for whomever they “like” the most.

In other words, whenever “the people” feel like someone “gets them,” they willingly give power over to that person. But whenever they feel that someone is elitist or doesn’t get them or understand them and their issues, power leaves. Putting politics aside, this is one of the major issues confronting our current president, Barack Obama.

President Obama was voted in on a populist platform where people felt like he understood them and their issues. Unfortunately, two years later, his poll ratings are down almost 20 points, with a higher disapproval rating than an approval rating. Why? For a number of reasons, but if you listen to the comments most people make it’s that they feel he’s “out of touch,” he doesn’t “understand them,” he doesn’t “know what matters to them anymore,” he’s “elitist,” etc.

This same thing happens to owners and CEOs of small and medium-sized businesses all the time. As they grow, they spend all their time with senior executives or their top team or with investors or board members, etc. And then they wonder why their people don’t follow them like they used to. Hello?

Great leaders know they have to frequently be among “the people”. This is why Managing by Wandering Around (MBWA) was such a powerful concept. And I’ve watched it literally transform companies and organizations–small and large. There’s something very powerful that happens when the people of a business or organization feel connected to their leader.

In fact, I was just talking to one of my daughters the other day about her former principal, Suzanne Maxey, whom we all loved. She transformed a school. And one of the ways she did it was she was “among the people.” And she didn’t just show up at events, she valued the input of the students she interacted with (as well as faculty). She “got them.”

In fact, one of my daughter’s favorite practices of Suzanne was that she would often get on the intercom and say something like, “Okay, whoever is in the second row, third seat from the front, please report to the auditorium.” The students would file down to the auditorium and then she’d ask them questions and seek their input (i.e. she held randomly selected focus groups). Suzanne led well for a number of reasons, but one of them was that she was “among the people.” Unfortunately, some of the other principals who have come before her and after her, missed this lesson–to the detriment of the school.

At the end of the day, positional power can only get a leader so far (just ask Tony Howard of BP). What makes a great leader great is that they have referential power; that is, power willingly bestowed upon them–not because of position, but because of choice. And what drives that choice? It’s the belief by “the people” that their leader gets them, likes them, cares for them and understands them.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a tech company with $15M in revenue or a multi-national consumer products company with $15B in revenue. If you want to lead well, you need to be among your people. And not just physically, they need to feel you value them, hear them, and understand them.

So, how are you doing at this? How much time each week do you spend with people “down the org chart”? How much time do you spend doing MBWA? How much do your people like you? How much do you like them? What are their major concerns right now? How are you addressing them? Do you “get them”? Do they feel the same?

Remember, if you want to lead well, be among the people. You can’t lead well from a distance. If you’re only meeting with your top level people, you’re missing out. You need to be among the people if you really want to enter the ranks of being a great leader.

To your accelerated success!

I remember, shortly after my board coup several years ago, the movie “Rocky Balboa” came out and in the middle of the movie, Rocky made the following comment to his son,

“It ain’t about how hard you’re hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward–that’s how winning is done!”

I immediately put that quote up on my credenza and still look at it to this day. To me, that’s the power of a great quote. In just a few words, it can say so much.

In light of that, over the July 4th weekend, I decided to create my own favorite quote site. As a consultant and professional speaker, I’m regularly on the look out for great quotes. So, rather than horde them for myself, in the spirit of Tom Peters (when you go to the site, you’ll understand that comment), I’ve decided to make them available to everyone.

So, rather than bore you with more content, let me encourage you to go to the site and read some great inspirational business-oriented quotes. I think you’ll enjoy them! Oh, and the URL is pretty easy to remember

http://www.brucequotes.com

Note: I just created the site Saturday evening so some of the topics only have a few quotes, while others have quite a few. But over time, the approximately 400 quotes will grow. The site is still under 48 hours old. Just bookmark it and return to it whenever you either need some inspiration or you’re putting together a talk or training session and need the perfect quote to make the perfect point.

To your accelerated success!

http://www.brucequotes.com

Why? Because it’s a mistake I see a lot of leaders make (i.e. they don’t apologize–or apologize enough–or apologize soon enough) and they all pay a price for that. It doesn’t matter if you’re the President of the United States or the CEO of a global company (BP anyone?) or the Senior Pastor of a large church or the Managing Partner of a large law firm or the Executive Director of a Non-Profit/Association or the Owner of a five person professional services firm. Most leaders don’t get this–and it’s a mistake.

In the post to my daughters I mention that Leroy Jethro Gibbs (the main character on NCIS if you don’t watch the show) is wrong. His opinion is that apologizing is a sign of weakness and you should never do it. I respectfully disagree. Apologizing isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. And great leaders get this.

In Marshall Goldsmith’s wonderful book on leadership, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (which is a must read), he makes the following statement,

“I regard apologizing as the most magical, healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. It is the centerpiece of my work with executives who want to get better.”

Now, lest you try to brush past this statement quickly, you ought to know that the CEOs Marshall coaches are Fortune 500 CEOs. On the list of the Top 50 Thinkers in Business, he’s number 14. In other words, when Marshall Goldsmith says that the centerpiece in his work with executives who want to get better is to help them learn how to apologize, that’s worth paying attention to.

For years, I’ve taught leaders this same idea–that they should apologize freely and frequently. Why? Because relationships matter. If you’re confident as a leader, then you have the strength to apologize and don’t need to worry about self-preservation or ego. And the amazing thing is that when you do apologize, relationships get stronger and the problem is usually eliminated right then and there.

However, when leaders don’t apologize everything gets worse. Relationships get strained and often sever (and, frequently, for life). Conflicts increase. Trust is broken. Sides are taken. Commitment decreases. New problems arise. Productivity decreases. Etc. In other words, nothing positive happens when leaders choose to not apologize. I’ve literally watched organizations shrivel all because a leader or group of leaders at the top weren’t willing to apologize for what they had done. Amazing!

But apologizing isn’t only the right thing to do because of relationships, it’s also good business practice. For example, in a study at the University of Michigan’s Health System, when they opened the doors for doctors to apologize for a medical error guess what happened? Lawsuits didn’t go up–they went down–and in half! In addition, awards went down as well.

“Apologies for medical errors, along with upfront compensation, (reduces) anger of patients and families, which leads to a reduction in medical malpractice lawsuits and associated defense litigation expenses,” says Doug Wojieszak, spokesman for The Sorry Works! Coalition.

Furthermore, on a practical level, I’ve watched this for years. It’s always been my practice to apologize as quickly as possible. Now, frequently, the issue isn’t over something you’ve actually done wrong, it’s their perception of what you did wrong. In those cases, you can apologize for what it has communicated to them or how it’s affected them. “I’m sorry that when I said … it communicated … to you. That was not my intent at all. And I am truly sorry that it’s negatively affected our relationship.” Apology made. Apology accepted. Conflict ended.

So as you look at your work place and relationships, are there some relationships you need to restore with a long overdue apology? Or is there a decision that you’ve made that has had a negative impact that you haven’t owned up to? Just apologize. And from this point forward, make it your policy to apologize freely, frequently and fast. You’ll be amazed at the impact. Plus, you’ll have just made, “the most magical, healing and restorative gesture a human being can make!” Who can argue with that?

To your accelerated success!

P.S. Yes, there are a few instances where you haven’t done anything wrong and you shouldn’t apologize, but, in general, your default position should be to take responsibility and restore relationships whenever possible.

• Would they be your core values (for ex. respect, responsibility, honesty and service)?
• Would they be a phrase (for ex. “Make it so, #1” in deference to Capt. Jean Luc Picard of Start Trek: The Next Generation fame)?
• Would they be actions (for ex. Farm, Call, Convert, Upsell)?
• Or would they be something else?

It’s an interesting question. If you were to narrow down your business philosophy to just four words, what would they be?

Well, last evening I was perusing Tom Peter’s website and downloaded one of his Power Point ® Presentations (which are free, by the way). As I was reading through a recent speech he gave for Inc. I came across this one slide that simply said,

The four most important words in any organization are, “What do you think?”

I love that!

Note: this was a line from a comment posted on his blog at www.tompeters.com from a guy named Dave Wheeler.

But the reason why I love this slide is because I love the simplicity and power contained in those four simple words, “What do you think?” Having observed and consulted with enough businesses and organizations, I would concur that those four words could/can literally change a company.

As leaders, we so often get stuck in the “It’s my job to have all the answers,” or “It’s my job to come up with solutions to problems,” etc. that we forget that our primary job as leaders is not to have all the answers or to tell everyone the answers, but to leverage the time, talent, resources and INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY of the people in our organization/business to achieve some kind of results.

Even more, when we ask, “What do you think?” what we’re doing is so much more than just asking a question. For example, when you ask your people, “What do you think?”

1. You’re giving your people respect (I value what you have to say, which is why I’ve asked you)
2. You’re training your people to be solutions creators (I want you to help solve this so you can do this in the future)
3. You’re bringing new ideas into the mix (not giving in to your own biases and prejudices)
4. You’re creating buy-in (since people tend to own what they help create)
5. And you’re creating relational capital.

At every juncture, you win as a leader just by remembering to ask, EVERY DAY, “What do you think?

I think Dave is right on. These could easily be the four most important words in any organization.

So … What do you think?

To your accelerated success,

P.S. Either today or tomorrow (depending on when you’re reading this), make it a goal to ask at least FIVE people, “What do you think?” Then do the same thing the next day, and the next day and the next day after that as well.

In other words, before someone starts adding something to the mix to improve execution/implementation, they should first eliminate some of the things that are currently hindering successful implementation. As a typical INTJ, I had a list of 15 hindrances in my notes, but to encourage some more group interaction I decided to ask the leader/managers present to break into groups of three to four people and come up with their own lists of items or issues that hinder execution in their company.

Without betraying confidences, I’m going to combine some of their ideas with some of mine to help get your brain kick started. For example,

• Too many “priorities“ (or conflicting priorities)
• Lack of specificity on the details of who’s responsible for what
• Not enough communication (or unclear communication)
• Lack of trust
• Interruptions
• Poor prioritization of what matters
• Departmental conflicts
• Lack of accountability
• Fear of accountability
• Limited people/resources
• Lack of personal responsibility/commitment
• The complexity of a project (or its size)
• Lack of executive attention
• A tendency to over-analyze (analysis paralysis)
• Lack of ownership
• Lack of excitement about the project, etc.

Now, think about this. If some of these issues are present in your organization, what do you think the probability is that your people are going to execute well? Probably somewhere between zero and nil. It just isn’t going to happen.

Therefore, one of the first places to make changes, if you want to make sure that your team executes better, is to eliminate some of those hindrances. And what I’d recommend is to take this question to your team,

”What hinders us, as a team and company, from executing better and faster?“

Have them brainstorm, while someone writes their ideas on an easel pad (my guess is that ideas will come rather fast and furious–after all, they’ve been thinking about these for years :-). Then, once you have a list, discuss what are the top three hindrances that, if eliminated, would have the greatest impact on increasing our ability to execute.

Then I’d take that list and work, as a team, on creating a plan to eliminate your top three hindrances from your company/organization (i.e. don’t try to fix everything at once. Start with a few items and then expand as you eliminate the current “three”).

Remember, execution doesn’t have to be rocket science. But it does have to be done. So make the list, reduce the list, and then start eliminating the items on the list. Because it’s going to be difficult to create an environment/culture of execution when there are a number of hindrances competing to ensure that execution doesn’t happen.

To your accelerated success!

P.S. You did make that list, didn’t you?

That said, last Thursday, my father sent me a list of things he needed from Home Depot to complete the installation of a new sliding glass door at my home. Not necessarily excited by the task, I got in my car and drove over to the local Home Depot, with my list in tow, and entered “The Unfamiliar Zone.”

I call it that because it’s all out of my comfort zone. And in my previous journeys to Home Depot, I’ve rarely met anyone who’s been exceptionally helpful. Despite advertising to the contrary, most of the time I ask a question of someone at Home Depot, they point down the concrete pathway and says, “I think that’s on aisle … about halfway down on your right.” Thanks!

However, last Thursday, that all changed. As I walked into Home Depot (at the lumber entrance), a Home Depot employee was walking towards me and, probably noticing my pained look, asked, “Can I help you?” To which I quickly replied, “Absolutely!”

He asked, “What do you need help with?” I pulled out the list my father had sent me by email and said, “My father sent me a list of items he needs to complete the installation of our new sliding glass door.”

He (his name is Shadi–picture below) said, “Can I see the list?” “Absolutely!” As soon as he saw what I needed (chair rail, floor base and trim) he took hold of my cart (one of the lumber ones) and started walking me toward the correct area of the store. As we were walking Shadi asked, “Do you know the sizes of each of these? And what kind of trim or chair rail you need?” Etc.

Fortunately, I had taken measurements and photos with my iPhone so I could show someone what I needed (since I knew I didn’t have the right vocabulary). He said, “Perfect. I know exactly what you need.”

And then Shadi did something wonderful, he literally walked me to each of the three places where I needed to get what was on the list, pulled out what I needed out, cut the wood into the exact lengths I needed, and even helped me save some money. It was truly wonderful. In fact, I even said, “This is like having a personal shopper!”

So, why did I title this post, “Shame on You Home Depot!”?

Because when we were done and I had shared with Shadi how much I really appreciated everything he had done for me (and he did it rather quickly, by the way), I asked, “So, Shadi, do you have a comment card I can fill out on you about how terrific your service was?” He could only reply, “No!”

I continued, “Well, is there a manager I can talk with?” He politely said, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing. It was my pleasure.” As I walked to the front of the store, I kept looking for a manager to share my story with–and couldn’t find one. I asked the cashier, “Do you have any comment cards I can fill out?” She said, “No!” I said, ‘Really?“ And she said, “The only thing we have is a computer way down at the other end that you can log onto and fill something out.” End of story. Fortunately, Shadi had walked to the front of the store by then so I could grab a photo of him with my iPhone (which you can see below).

But shame on Home Depot for not making it easy for someone like me to brag on one of their employees! They should be collecting these stories and sharing them in every location all the time. Great customer service doesn’t just happen. You have to cast vision about it. And nothing speaks louder than a compliment from a customer about a great service experience.

So, how about you? Do you have a system in place that makes it easy to capture customer testimonies? Do you use multiple capture methods? Do you have some Shadi’s that you need to lift up? Do you regularly cast vision about great customer service? Etc.

At the end of the day, you and I don’t know Home Depot by their executive team. We know Home Depot (and every other business) based on the Shadi’s of the world–the people we actually interact with. And the same goes for you and your company. So who are the “Shadi’s” of your company? And how are you going to make heroes out of them today?

To your accelerated success!

• 1 in 3 high potentials employees admits to not putting their all into their job
• 1 in 4 believes they’ll be working for another employer by the end of the year
• 1 in 5 believes that their personal aspirations are different from what the organization has planned for them
• 4 out of 10 have little confidence in their co-workers and even less in the senior team

In other words, there may be more trouble out there than you see (or are acknowledging). So, what should you do? Well, here are a few thoughts, all of which could be summed up in one phrase,

Don’t treat your thoroughbreds the same way you treat everyone else!

1. Give them challenging assignments. High-potentials get bored easily and tend to disengage accordingly. However, they love a challenge. So keep throwing them stimulating projects where they know they can make a difference.

2. Give them access to you. High-potentials want contact with the person at the top–and not just occasionally. They like knowing they have access to the “king” (or “queen” :-). Relationships build far greater loyalty than anything else. So, invest time in them. Talent development should always be high on your agenda!

3. Give them inside info. Let them know they know things that not everyone else does. And share your future ideas and strategies with them. In other words, make sure they know that they’re not just getting the same information that everyone else in your company is getting.

4. Give them lots of freedom. Thoroughbreds don’t like to be harnessed. So, don’t try to control or contain or limit them. Give them as much autonomy as possible to get the job done. Thoroughbreds flourish when they get to make the calls. Yes, they’ll make messes. But they’ll also get your company where you want to get faster.

5. Give them more. Give them more recognition. Give them more money (or other forms of compensation). And give them more assignments. High-potentials thrive in an environment where they’re given more–so make sure you give them what they want.

Forget “fairness” and “equity.” Jefferson was wrong. We’re not all created equally. We all have equal worth and value as human beings, but we don’t all have the same skill sets and abilities. Nor does everyone on your team have the same impact on your business or organization.

So, who are you high-potentials (along with your current top performers)? And what is your plan for each of them this year? Remember the stats above. You just can’t assume they’ll always be with you–or that they’re giving you all they can. They do have more. And the better you are at releasing that more, the better you and your business will do! And the longer they’ll be with you!

To your accelerated success!

Note:If you have some conflict norms of your own–or comments about this video, please leave your thoughts and ideas below!

Moreover, he states that when his company loses a bid or contract, he simple throws away any vestige of that client in their offices and moves on as if that client or bid never existed. In his world, they’ve never lost a bid because if they didn’t get the contract then it isn’t a client they would have wanted to work with.

Besides the fact that I find it hard to believe that his company actually works this way (like they’ve never fired someone for underperforming or they only evaluate based on successes), I find it just bad advice. The reality is that most businesses need to do more learning from failure–not less.

As a consultant, I spend my life walking into companies where problems exist (and they exist in every company, including Bogusky’s). And I have yet to find any company that is really great at evaluation and learning from failure. Most business leaders are so busy trying to stay on top of all their work, that they rarely ever take time to stop and learn from their failures/missed opportunities/mistakes etc. Therefore, they tend to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. As the saying goes (slightly altered),

“Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Now, if a leader or manager is a blamer (i.e. a bad leader or manager) then that is a problem–but not with the idea of learning from failure. Rather it’s a failure of the leader/manager to carry out their job well. Likewise, if they’re creating a culture of fear vs. trust, then that’s a leadership issue, not an evaluation problem.

Great leader/managers know that learning from the past, both positive and negative, is essential to improving and optimizing the future. They understand that if there’s a problem, it’s not a person who’s the problem, it’s the system. And the only way to fix the system is to debrief and make sure that they and their team have learned from what happened so that the same problem isn’t repeated. No learning = ongoing problem.

So don’t listen to Alex on this one. Increase your learning from failure (and success). Invest more time in evaluating what happened so that you can both eliminate/minimize any problems and optimize/leverage any successes. It’s not an either/or. It’s a both/and. And in most cases, there’s not enough learning going on. So I’d argue that you need to increase your learnings so you can increase your successes!

To your accelerated success!

P.S. If you want to know the five questions you should always ask when evaluating, click here>>